2012-13 TV Preview- Sunday 8:00

Today, I will start my comprehensive preview of the 2012-13 TV season.  I will use the SpottedRatings format for my preview, meaning that I will do one hour of the schedule every day (except Saturdays), starting with the 8:00 hour and ending with the 10:00 hour.  Today, we look at 8:00 on Sundays.

THE MATCHUP
CBS: The Amazing Race (seasons 21 and 22)
FOX: The Simpsons (season 24) / Bob's Burgers (season 3)
NBC: Sunday Night Football; midseason: Fashion Star (season 2)
ABC: Once Upon a Time (season 2)

2011-12 PROGRAM AVERAGES
Amazing Race: 2.88 (fall) / 2.62 (spring)
The Simpsons: 2.87
Bob's Burgers: 1.87 (only in spring)
SNF: 8.36
Fashion Star: 1.56 (on Tuesdays only in spring)
OUAT: 3.27

2012-13 PROJECTIONS

1. NBC- If you include it in the rankings, Sunday Night Football was far and away the #1 program last year.  Furthermore, the popularity of most sporting events (including football) grows every year.  SNF should score 8.78 (up 5%).  Come midseason, NBC will not be so successful in this slot.  Fashion Star was part of a Voice-filled Tuesday last year.  I do not expect it to do better than 1.25 (down 20%).

2. ABC- ABC is trying to team up its successful freshman dramas from last season to make up for the loss of Desperate Housewives from the Sunday schedule.  While I think that it may help the other show, Revenge, I do not think that OUAT will see any growth from the scheduling move.  Instead, I predict that it will score 3.01 (down 8%).

3. CBS- TAR was one of the most consistent shows on television for a long time, but it has gone down a bit over the last few years.  History shows that it tends to bounce back two to three tenths from its rating the previous spring in the football-fueled fall.  I will give it 2.86 (down 1% vs. Fall 2011) for the fall season and 2.55 (down 3% vs. Spring 2012) for the spring season.


4. FOX- FOX's Animation Domination does not really dominate anymore.  Every now and then, The Simpsons will have a surprisingly solid season, but it struggled last year.  I think that the animation block needs some serious retooling and that the ratings will continue to fall for the tentpoles.  It should score 2.61 (down 9%).  Bob's Burgers will fare better when it comes to percentages because last season only aired in the spring.  I actually like it to grow slightly, to 1.91 (up 2%).



All stats come from http://www.spottedratings.com.